Willis ii



(No Model.)

W. H. BELKNAP,

RETENTION DEVICE FOR UMBRBLLAS, 6L0. No. 369,387. Patented Sept. 6, 1887.

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UNITED STATES WILLIS H. BELKNAP,

on NEW YORK, N. v.

RETENTION DEVICE FOR UMBRELLAS, &-C.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 369,387, dated September 6, 1887.

Application filed February 14, 1881. Serial No. 227,585. (No model) To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, /VILLIs H. BELKNAP, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Retention Devices for Umbrellas and Parasols, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to retention devices for holding the runners of umbrellas and parasols in closed and open positions on the sticks.

A retention device complete in itself and applied to umbrellas and parasols by being placed in a plain slot formed in the stick, consisting of a light metal case provided with an opening through its top, and a spring-acting catch pivoted in the case and projecting through said opening, forms the subject-matter of Letters Patent- No. 252,990, granted to me on January 31, 1882. This invention re latcs to the same class of retention devices, but differs from that embodied in my before-men tioned Letters Patent in that the main part, or what is equivalent to the case and fits into the slot formed in the stick, is a thin flat metal frame, having an opening extending through the upper edge thereof and provided with a circular recess or recesses, and the springcatch is formed to set in the opening of the frame when depressed to release the runner of the umbrella or parasol, and is provided with a circular bearing-piece or bearing-pieces, which fits or fit in the circular recess or recesses of the frame, thus constituting the pivotal conneetion of the catch in the frame. The actuatingspring is placed between the adjacent edges of the catch and the opening in the frame.

The accompanying drawings, to which I will now refer, illustrate several embodiments of my invention.

Figure l is a side elevation of my improved retention device applied to an umbrella-stick. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the device cut through the line a: at. Fig. 3 is a transverse section cut through the line ;I 3;. Fig. :t is a view illustrating the manner in which the frame is made. Fig. 5 is a similar view of the catch. Figs. 6, 8, and 10 are side elevations of modifications; and Figs. 7, 9, and 11 are horizontal sections cut through the lines a, e, and a of Figs. 6, S, and 10, respectively.

The frame a is straight on the upper edge and curved on the lower edge. The central part of the upper edge, a, and considerable of the body are cut away, forming an opening for the reception of the catch 22. A lip, a, is formed at one end of the opening and a circular recess, a at the other end. One end of the catch b is provided with a circular hearing, 1), which fits into the recess a of the frame, and its other end has a projection, N,

which determines the distance the catch is allowed to project beyond the upper edge, a, of the frame a by coming in contact with the lip a A wire or other suitable spring, 0, is placed between the lower edge of the catch 6 and the upper edge of the opening in the frame a.

The above description embodies the general features of the construct-ion of my improved retention device, as shown in all the views.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 3 the frame a is made of a piece of sheet metal, cut out as shown at Fig. 4, and then folded on the central dotted line. The edges of the opening and the circular recesses are internally beveled, so as to form undercut edges, as shown at Figs. 2 and 3. The catch 1) is also made of sheet metal, formed as shown at Fig. 5, and then folded on its central dotted line, the edges of the circular hearing I) and projection I) being externally beveled, thus forming the counterparts of the corresponding parts in the frame a, in which they fit and work, so that when the catch I) is placed in the frame a, which is done before the sides of the frame a are completely folded together, they are held together as regards lateral movement, but the front end of the catch I) is free to move in and out of the opening in the frame.

The parts of the blank which, when folded, constitute the lower edge of the catch b are internally beveled, thus forming a groove, in which one part of the spring 0 is held, the other part of the spring being retained in the grooved or undercut edge of the opening in the frame, as clearly shown at Fig.1. The frame a is slightly thicker than the catch 1), thus allowing the catch to play freely in the groove formed in the stick (1, in which groove the frame a fits snugly. This remark applies to all of the modifications.

In Figs. 6 and 7 the frame a and catch 7) are shown formed of solid pieces of sheet metal. The part of the opening in the frame 0 against which the projection 1) works and the circular recess a are beveled on both sides, and the corresponding parts of the catch 2) are forced over by suitable setting-tools to embrace said beveled edges, as clearly shown at Fig. 7. In these views the spring is shown integral with the catch I). It will of course be understood that a separate spring may be used, as in Figs. 1 to 3, if desired.

The frame a in Figs. 8 and 9 is a solid piece of metal, having recesses formed in both of its sides to hold the circular bearings and the projecting stop piece b of the catch 12, leaving a central guide-web, a, in the opening; and the catch 1) is made from a piece of metal formed as at Fig. 5, folded on the central line, so as to leave a space between its sides, and placed over the frame a, with the bearing-pieces in the circular recesses formed at one end of the opening, and the projections I) over the web at the other end of the opening of the frame a. The spring a is in this case composed of a piece of wire bent and placed inside the catch 5.

In the retention device shown at Figs. 10 and 11 the frame is composed of a piece, a, formed as shown at Fig.4, and a central webpiece, 6, over which the piece a is folded. The catch 1) is a piece of metal, shaped as at Fig. 5 and folded so that the circular bearings b and the projecting stop-pieces b embrace the central webpiece, e, and the sides forming the body are close together, as shown at Fig. 11. The spring a is in this case made integral with the central web-piece, d, and bears under the catch 6 near its pivotal connection with the frame a.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. In a retention device for umbrellas and parasols,the combination,with a thin fiat solid frame having an opening formed therein, extending entirely through it and through a part of its upper edge, of a fiat spring-acting catch located in the opening thereof and normally projecting beyond the upper edge.

2. In a retention device for umbrellas and parasols, the combination ,.with a thin flat frame having an opening formed-laterally therein, extending through the upper edge, and a circular recess formed at one end of the opening, of a catch provided with a circular bearing fitted in the circular recess of the opening in the frame, and a spring located between the catch and the frame.

3. In a retention device for umbrellas and parasols, in combination, a thin fiat frame having an opening formed laterally therein, extending through the upper edge, a lip at one end thereof and a beveled recess at the other end, a flat catch slightly thinner than the frame, having a projection at one end adapted to catch under said lip, and a circular beveled bearing fitting into the circular recess of the frame, and a spring located between the lower edge of the catch and the bottom of the opening in the frame.

4. In a retention device for umbrellas and parasols, in combination, the catch b, formed of a folded piece of metal provided with a circular bearing, b, and a projection, I)", having beveled edges, the frame a, also formed of a folded piece'of metal having an opening, and a circular recess, of, with beveled edges, and a lip, a", and the spring 0, located between the catch and frame and resting in grooves in the opposite faces, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, at New York, county and State of New York, this 9th day of February, 1887.

WILLIS H. BELKNAP.

Witnesses:

ALFRED SHEDLooK, H. D. WILLIAMS. 

